Australia Day Awards – Nominate Now!

Deadline: 5-Dec-22

The Parkes Shire Council has launched the “Australia Day Awards” to recognize the cultural, community, environmental, sporting, business and indigenous achievements.

The Council coordinates an annual awards program presented at the Parkes Australia Day Ceremony to acknowledge and promote the hard work and achievements of community members and groups. The annual award programs facilitated by Parkes Shire Council are presented on Australia Day in Parkes with nominations for each category invited from the Parkes Shire community.

Categories

• Community Awards
  • Being nominated for a Parkes Shire Council Community Award is a great honour. It is your opportunity to recognise and reward someone in the local community. It is a time to recognise and reward the excellent efforts and achievements of citizens young and old and the organiser/s of community events.
  • Parkes Shire Council invites you to nominate outstanding community members in the following Award categories:
    • Adult Citizen, over 25 years of age
    • Young Citizen, up to 25 years of age
    • Community Event of the Year (groups of two persons or more)
• Cultural Awards
  • To recognise, reward and encourage excellence in the performing, visual, and creative arts and crafts.
  • The Parkes Shire Cultural Awards recognise excellence in the performing, visual, and creative arts and crafts in the following categories:
    • Performance Award
    • Literary Award
    • Visual Arts Award
    • Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Areas of Cultural Achievement Covered by the Awards:
    • Performance in song, dance, drama, music or any combination of these.
    • Artistic and creative achievement in any medium, including painting, sculpture, film, video, textile, clay, wood, or metal.
    • Creative writing in prose, verse or song.
    • Outstanding effort by individual or group to promote the arts in the Parkes Shire area.
• Environmental Award
  • This award recognises individuals and organisations championing litter reduction and/or environmental initiatives in their local community.
• Sports Awards
  • The Parkes Shire Sports Awards are divided into 8 categories including:
    • Sports Person of the Year
    • Junior Sportsperson of the Year
    • Team of the Year
    • Coach, Trainer or Manager
    • Referee, Umpire or Official
    • Senior Team or Sportsperson
    • Administrator
    • Long Service and Dedication Award
• Ron Harrison Sports Bursary
  • The purpose of the bursary is to:
    • Perpetuate the memory of the late Mr. Ron Harrison, who died in February 1985, for his contribution to the community of Parkes and district, particularly in the development of sport; and
    • Provide financial assistance to the Sportspersons of the Parkes Shire, particularly those at junior levels, who demonstrate the need for this assistance to further develop their career.

Benefit

• All recipients of the Australia Day Community Awards will receive a framed certificate, presented at the Parkes Australia Day Award Ceremony.

Eligibility Criteria

• Community Awards
  • Individuals or groups of residents of the Parkes Shire Council area, who have made an outstanding achievement in citizenship or with a community event.
  • Young people with an exceptional ability, and who have reached an outstanding level of achievement, or who aim to seek further opportunities in their field.
  • Individuals or groups who have made an outstanding achievement in citizenship or a community event which has provided growth, enhancement and/or improvement in the community within the Parkes Shire Council area.
  • Self-nominations are ineligible.
  • Previous winners cannot be nominated again for the same category.
• Cultural Awards
  • Individuals or groups of residents of the Parkes Shire Council region who have made an outstanding achievement in any branch of the performing, literary, visual or creative arts or crafts.
  • People who have demonstrated exceptional ability, and who have reached an outstanding level of achievement in their field.
  • Individuals or groups who are offering support and encouragement which has provided growth and/or improvement in the arts within the Parkes Shire Council Area.
• Environmental Award
  • An individual or group from the Parkes Shire Council Area who have made an outstanding environmental achievement in within the Parkes Shire.

Criteria

• Community Awards
  • The criteria for nominating an individual or an event for the Parkes Shire Citizenship, Young Citizen or Community Event Award are that the nominee or group has:
    • performed an outstanding level of citizenship contribution that has been universally acknowledged by the local community;
    • achieved exceptional results in examination, performance or that has provided entry into a higher level of study or performance;
    • improved the community services or advancement of the community within the local area.
• Cultural Awards
  • The criteria for nomination for the Parkes Shire Cultural Award are that the nominated person or group:
    • Has reached a high level of achievement that has been widely acknowledged by the local community;
    • Has been competitively selected to perform at a State or higher level;
    • Has achieved exceptional results in examination, performance or exhibition that has provided entry into a higher level of study or performance or exhibition.
    • Has improved the cultural services or advancement of the arts of the local area.
• Environmental Award
  • The criteria for nominating an individual or group for the Parkes Shire Environmental Award are that the nominee or group has contributed at an outstanding level to environmental preservation or advancement of environmental awareness within the local area.

For more information, visit https://www.parkes.nsw.gov.au/living-here/your-community/awards/